[Fair warning – this is probably not going to become a thing.] 

I can be a bit of a jerk at times.  This can extend to a lot of things, but right now I’m thinking about the city I live in.  Yeah, I can be a real big jerk about Halifax. 

Anyone who knows me will verify this – I don’t exactly keep it a secret.  This city is much windier than the city I grew up in, which makes it impossible for me to do anything nice with my hair, since it will be all over the place the second I set foot outside.  And then there are the humid summers, the freezing winters, the tendency to be in the path of hurricanes, etcetera, etcetera…  

But today is not about my being a jerk.  Today is about being positive – about finding the things I like about this city. 

So here’s one of the things I like about Halifax:

The Noon Gun

Historically the military first used cannons to signal daybreak, noon and sunset. An evening cannon warned soldiers that the fort gates were closing for the night and that they should return to barracks. …  For over 155 years, the citizens of Halifax have relied on the reverberating blast from the noon gun to signal mid-day. 

Yes, Halifax fires a cannon at noon every day.  I live close enough to Citadel Hill that I can hear the cannon fire at noon, and I’ve lived here long enough that it’s much less of a surprise.  Still, if you’re walking past the hill at noon it can catch you off guard (and it’s really loud).  

It’s also fun to watch unsuspecting tourists jump.